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Relieving a Loved One's Depression
Saturday, January 20, 2007
Question
My mom has been seemingly depressed for the last few months. She used to be much more active and social, but now she’d rather be home. I think she feels physically old and it is making her depressed. Her thoughts are cohesive but she has shown little signs of forgetting a few words, unlike any other time in the past, which – to me – seems like a rather normal thing when people reach that age. What can I do to make her feel better?
Answer
Depression
is a serious, but treatable illness. There are different degrees of
depression for which different treatments may help.
Depression
is fairly common in older people, but it is not necessarily a normal
part of aging. While it may be normal to feel somewhat depressed from
time to time as we get older perhaps due to coping with illness,
increases in physical frailty or some loss of independence, it is not
normal to be depressed all the time.
What
needs to be observed more seriously is whether her ability to function
mentally and physically is affected for prolonged periods. If these
symptoms last more than two weeks, see a doctor and inquire about
depression.